The shovel's blade pierced the earth one final time, planting firmly next to the grave. Applejack wiped the sweat from her brow, grateful that it was done and finished. Her breathing was labored after digging and refilling the resting place. But she didn't care how tired or weak it had made her. This had been a labor of love.
"Apple Bloom."
Applejack didn't turn her head. She knew Apple Bloom was waiting to move closer. She stood silently as her young sister approached the grave. Tears were flowing down the filly's cheeks. Applejack couldn't blame her. She wanted to cry herself. No. She had to remain strong now. For Apple Bloom.
Apple Bloom sat down in front of the dirt mound, her tears dropping onto the grass.
"Bye Big Mac. I'll never forget you."
Applejack swallowed to keep herself from falling apart. How could she and Apple Bloom survive? The sickness had taken Big Mac and he had been the strongest of the family. What hope was there for them? How could they possibly-
No.
That sort of thinking couldn't exist anymore. Not when Applejack had her sister to care for. She took a deep breath and stood up straight.
"We have to go."
Apple Bloom looked up at her. The tears were still coming, but sadness had left her eyes and was being replaced with confusion. Applejack's own eyes were beginning to feel moist, a single tear squeezing its way out onto her cheek.
"We need to find somewhere safe."
"But... But what about the farm?"
"There's not much of a farm left sugarcube. The orchard's empty and we're runnin' low on supplies in the house. We've gotta move on."
"And just leave Big Mac and Granny here?!"
"There's nothin' else we can do for them. We put them to rest. And that's a sight more than most ponies are gettin' now."
Apple Bloom looked back at Big Mac's grave and then over towards another mound under the nearest tree. Applejack followed her gaze to look one last time at Granny Smith's final resting place. They had even moved her old rocking chair out next to it. There it would sit with its owner for the rest of time.
Applejack turned away and began walking towards the house.
"Let's pack up."
Apple Bloom struggled with her saddlebag as she came downstairs. Applejack wondered what the filly could have possibly packed to make it so hard to carry.
"Did you pack anything useful?"
"This is my stuff! I need it!"
"We don't need anything that isn't necessary. Go on now. Open it up and let me see."
Apple Bloom slowly loosened her bag and it dropped to floor. She tipped it over and the contents spilled out. Applejack looked over the pile of odds and ends. There was a red ball, her Cutie Mark Crusaders cape, a book, and some extra hair ribbons.
"I think the ball and ribbons stay behind."
"Okay."
"What's that book?"
Apple Bloom opened the book, revealing a photo. Applejack came next to Apple Bloom so the photo was right side up.
"It's my Cutie Mark Crusaders photo album. I just...wanted something to remember them by."
Applejack pulled her sister into a hug. Apple Bloom had been devastated when both of her friends had passed. It seemed cruel that she'd lost so much at such a young age.
"I'm sorry. Of course you can bring it."
After gathering what food they could the sisters left the house and walked one last time through the apple orchard. Their walk ended near the old clubhouse and Apple Bloom insisted on going to it. Applejack stood quietly as she watched the filly tied on her Crusader cape and disappear inside.
Apple Bloom looked around the clubhouse. Dust was beginning to gather on everything. Some cobwebs had even begun to form. She walked over to the stand and stood behind it, observing the room. She spotted their old map of Ponyville in the corner. And there was the thinking spot for cutie mark ideas! A smile crept to her face. So many good memories were made in this place. But now that's all they would be. Memories. No more crusades. No more adventure.
"I hereby call the final meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. As you know already, we lost two of our members. And we're gonna miss them. But we'll never forget the awesome times we had together."
A tear hit the stand.
"And the best part of it all wasn't trying to find our cutie marks. It was having friends like Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. And they will always be..."
More tears dotted the wood.
"The best friends a pony could ask for."
She reached up to her neck and untied the cape. With a flourish, she laid the cape on top of the stand.
"Meeting adjourned."
Applejack stood as Apple Bloom appeared from the clubhouse. She noticed that her cape was missing, but decided not to bring it up. As her sister got closer it was obvious she'd been crying. Applejack felt her heart ache. Would Apple Bloom be able to cope?
She had to. They both did.
Gone were the days when laughter and friendship were in abundance. They'd been replaced with the sickness. Just like with Big Mac and Granny it would take over every pony it could. One by one they would all go mad and become vicious animals.
But not her. Or Apple Bloom.
They would find somewhere safe. They would escape the sickness, even if it meant leaving Equestria all together. But for now they just needed to leave the farm and its haunting memories. They would walk through the night to find a safe place to rest. And the next day they would keep walking.
Applejack looked over her shoulder for what felt like the hundredth time.
"You've gotta keep up Apple Bloom. It's not safe."
Apple Bloom nodded solemnly, picking up the pace. Applejack waited for her to catch up before continuing. She knew she needed to be gentle with her sister with what they'd just gone through, but grief had to be put aside now. They couldn't afford to be distracted by their feelings. Distraction could be fatal.
Ponyville was beginning to peek into sight. Applejack wasn't sure what they were going to find when they arrived. If given the opportunity she would pass over the town entirely, but she had to see what happened. All she'd ever seen from the farm was smoke. And that had been months ago.
Months..
Had it really only been that long? To Applejack it had felt like a lifetime. A lifetime of seeing the world go to Tartarus. A lifetime of watching ponies she once knew go insane. A lifetime of watching her family die around her.
Now that lifetime was gone. Her life was over.
Applejack didn't exist anymore.
She'd stopped being Applejack the moment Celestia had pronounced the sickness unmanageable. The most powerful alicorn in all Equestria and she couldn't help whatsoever! And not even Twilight had argued against her. Nopony had. And that's when Applejack, the Element of Honesty, had ceased to exist. And it all happened with three words. Her first outright lie.
"We'll be fine."
From there everything happened in the blink of an eye. Over half of Equestria was infected. Twilight had returned to Canterlot to find a cure. The others had gone home to prepare for the worst. And what had Applejack done?
"We'll be fine."
She let her family believe that everything was going to work out. And she hadn't done it out of love. She couldn't protect them now that there was no hope. So she told them what they wanted to hear. She let them think they'd be safe. But they weren't.
"We'll be fine."
The lie she told herself every morning. But she never believed it. She would never believe it as long as she continued living. And yet she still said it. Why? Why did she keep trying to trick herself into having hope? Hope didn't exist anymore.
"Applejack?"
Applejack shook her head, pushing her darker thoughts to the back of her mind. She turned to Apple Bloom.
"Huh?"
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
"You sure?"
"Yeah! Now come on. We gotta get to town."
"But we are in town."
Applejack looked around in confusion. They were standing in the center of town. Had she been that deep in thought? How could she be so careless!
"Did you see anything on our way in?"
Apple Bloom shook her head.
"Nope. I think Ponyville's empty."
Empty? Had everypony really abandoned their home?
"Come on. Let's see if we can find anything to take with us."
Home by home. Store by store. Nothing. Ponies had been sure to take their belongings. Even the quill and sofa shop was devoid of its usual stock of merchandise! Why would a pony take a sofa when leaving town?
"What about that shop Sis?"
Applejack looked where Apple Bloom was pointing. There was a shop hidden around the corner. Had there always been a shop there?
"Okay. But stay behind me."
Apple Bloom fell in behind her sister as they approached the shop. Boards covered the windows and door. Applejack thought it odd that anypony would bother boarding up if they were just abandoning the place. Unless...
"I think there might be somepony inside."
"What do you mean?"
"Why else would they put these boards up? They did it for protection."
"You sure? What if it's sick ponies?"
"We won't know until we look inside."
"Perhaps I can ease your minds."
The sisters turned to see the door wide open. The boards that were nailed to it appeared to be for show only. And standing in the doorway was a brown stallion. He motioned for the two to come in.
"You'd better come along before night falls. That's when most of them come out."
Applejack stood still while Apple Bloom hurried inside the shop. She stared at the stallion.
"Can we trust you?"
"As much as I can trust you at this point."
She nodded. It was a fair answer.
"Name's Applejack."
"Dr. Time Turner. You can just call me Doctor."
"Okay...Doctor. Thanks for the shelter."
"No problem. It'll be nice to have somepony else to talk to. I could use the companionship."
Applejack walked past and entered the shop. Apple Bloom was wandering around looking at the walls. From the looks of it this Doctor used to run a clock shop. Clocks of various shapes and sizes covered every last inch of wall space.
"I guess you know how long it's been since this all started huh Doctor?"
"7 months, 16 days, 4 hours, 34 minutes, 6 seconds."
"Uh... Okay. I was kind of kidding."
Apple Bloom sat down next to Applejack.
"Is there any other pony in town?"
"I haven't left the shop since the Sickness first hit. I don't know if there are any regular ponies left."
"Regular ponies?"
"The ponies who haven't gotten sick."
Applejack narrowed her eyes.
"And what do you call sick ponies?"
"Trotters. That's what they're doing half the time."
"What do they do the other half?"
The Doctor glanced from Applejack to Apple Bloom. The filly sat up tall.
"I'm a big pony. I can take it."
"Very well. I use the name Trotters over what they really are. And that's monsters."
"Monsters?"
The Doctor narrowed his eyes.
"Have you never seen one of them?"
"My.. My brother Big Mac was sick. But he died."
"Is that so? You're sure about that?"
"Of course. We buried him. And Applejack was with him when he died."
The stallion's eyes turned from Apple Bloom back to Applejack.
"The Sickness killed him?"
"Yeah."
"I'm so sorry. Apple Bloom I have some food in the back room if you want to find us a snack before you two get settled for the night."
Apple Bloom smiled and walked behind the counter towards the back room. The second she was out of sight the Doctor glared at Applejack.
"What really happened?"
Applejack tried to avoid his gaze, but to no avail. Why should she have to tell this stallion anything?
"I can understand why you haven't told her. But it won't protect her for long."
"She doesn't need to know anything."
"And what happens when she hears the facts?"
"What facts? It's just a bad disease."
"Disease?! You call ponies being driven insane and killing others a disease?!"
"It's just sickness. It messes with their head a little. I'm sure they're just hallucinatin'."
"Is that what your brother was doing?"
"Big Mac was a strong pony. And he always cared about family."
"Not in the end though I'm sure."
"You don't know anything about it!"
"Then tell me!"
"Fine! He lost his mind. He began to say things that made my mane curl. And one day he attacked me."
"He tried to kill you."
"Yeah. And I could tell that wasn't all he was going to do."
"I thought as much."
"How could my brother even consider such a thing! We're ponies! We don't eat-"
She stopped, unable to finish the thought. Her memories were resurfacing of the attack;
Big Mac had her pinned and he was licking his lips. What was he doing?
"What's wrong with you Mac?"
"I'm hungry. I haven't eaten in days!"
"I've brought you food every day! It's your fault you didn't eat it."
"No! Apples aren't what I want."
"What do you mean?"
"You look so...delicious."
"Big Mac! Snap out of it!"
He leaned over towards her.
"So hungry..."
She pulled her hind legs in and bucked her brother right in the stomach. He flew back onto the bed. She grabbed his pillow and held it over his face. She could barely hold back his struggling body. But she couldn't let him up. She had to do it...
"I had to do it."
The Doctor put a hoof on her shoulder.
"I understand. But please consider telling your sister. You can't keep her in the dark forever."
"With the way the world's going, the dark is all that's left."
"I don't believe that for one second. There's always light somewhere. But the important thing is that we keep some of that light within ourselves. Otherwise we're no better than Trotters."
Applejack nodded even though she thought he was wrong. And it seemed he could tell that as well.
Apple Bloom reappeared with some cookies on a plate. The Doctor smiled and grabbed one, munching on it happily. Applejack took one with less enthusiasm. Was he right? Should she tell Apple Bloom what really happened? Watching the filly, she found it was the first time she'd seen her smile in weeks. Could she really take that away from her?
What would Apple Bloom think if she knew she had murdered their brother?
A single fear rolled down Applejack's cheek. She couldn't tell her. Besides, she wasn't an honest pony anymore. Applejack didn't exist. Applejack had died when Big Mac's body had finally stopped shuddering.